Overview

A remarkable collection of the most personal aspects of Samuel Pepys' diaries, in celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of their publication. The Diary of Samuel Pepys is the most celebrated personal journal in the English language. Pepys's candid revelations as he forged his career as a civilian naval official in Restoration London have fascinated readers ever since the first selection was published in 1825. This book focuses on Pepys's controversial private life and is geared for a contemporary readership by charting his varied and complex relationships with women. These included his wife, Elizabeth--whom he both loved and treated abominably--their domestic servants, the mistresses whom he secretly visited in Westminster and Deptford, the great ladies of the court whom he ogled, and the actresses and other female friends whose company he delighted in and combined with casual flirting. All these he recounted in shorthand, often disguising the more salacious occasions in his own cryptic Franco-Latino polyglot or with a primitive system of extraneous consonants. Most of these controversial entries were excised from nineteenth century editions, but all are featured here in completely new transcriptions--with Pepys's secret code translated--following fresh forensic examination from the original shorthand diary. The Confessions of Samuel Pepys also reveals how all previous transcribers of the diary, as well as many of his biographers, have deliberately avoided this controversial element of Pepys's reputation.

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Reviews

""A highly successful introduction to the life of the Roman soldier. Making use of a wide range of sources, from stone inscriptions to colorful anecdotes, de la Bédoyère's informative and readable book offers real immediacy to readers.""--Clifford Ando, University of Chicago Praise for Guy de la Bédoyère: ""A scrupulous yet accessible history of ancient Egypt under the 18th Dynasty. Complemented by striking illustrations and valuable appendices, this impressive survey will be welcomed by ancient history buffs.""-- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""A lively and up-to-date history of the Praetorian Guard, the anti-coup divisions of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Constantine. De la Bédoyère tells their story with clarity and panache, and his book can be most warmly recommended both to aspiring tyrants and the ordinary armchair historian.""-- ""The Sunday Times (London)"" ""A necessary work for scholars of Roman history, but will also prove interesting and informative reading for the armchair historian.""-- ""New York Military Affairs Review"" ""An illuminating and highly readable narrative about the role of women at the center of imperial Rome--fascinating and important.""--Lesley Adkins, author of Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome ""Guy de la Bédoyère collects pretty much every fact known about what it was like to be in the military arm of the Roman Empire.""--Thomas E. Ricks, The New York Review of Books ""The dramatic story of the soldiers at the heart of the Roman empire. Lively and full of insight, de la Bedoyere traces the history of the praetorians and the emperors they served, murdered and made, through three hundred years of intrigue and drama.""--Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors

""A skilled, scholarly contribution to better understanding the man and his legacy.""-- ""The Times Literary Supplement"" ""A brilliantly entertaining and revealing new transcription of Pepys's diary.""--Claire Tomalin, bestselling author of The Young H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens ""A valuable, thought-provoking investigation of Pepys's writing.""--Kate Loveman, author of The Strange History of Samuel Pepys's Diary ""By compiling, translating, and commenting on the sections of the diary that focus on Pepys's personal life, he presents a powerful case for the prosecution. This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""--Katherine Harvey, The Times (London) ""Never less than compellingly readable. Adds so much to a fuller understanding of the man himself.""-- ""Irish Independent"" ""This newly explicit view of Pepys does not negate the continuing value of his diary--which remains a magnificent historical resource--but from now on it will be impossible to go to it in a state of innocence, let alone denial.""-- ""The Guardian"" ""This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""-- ""The Times (London)""

""A brilliantly entertaining and revealing new transcription of Pepys's diary.""--Claire Tomalin, bestselling author of The Young H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens ""A valuable, thought-provoking investigation of Pepys's writing.""--Kate Loveman, author of The Strange History of Samuel Pepys's Diary ""By compiling, translating, and commenting on the sections of the diary that focus on Pepys's personal life, he presents a powerful case for the prosecution. This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""--Katherine Harvey, The Times (London) ""Never less than compellingly readable. Adds so much to a fuller understanding of the man himself.""-- ""Irish Independent"" ""This newly explicit view of Pepys does not negate the continuing value of his diary--which remains a magnificent historical resource--but from now on it will be impossible to go to it in a state of innocence, let alone denial.""-- ""The Guardian"" ""This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""-- ""The Times (London)""

""Presents a darkly fascinating new transcription of the diaries of Samuel Pepys. Besides the shocking confessions, the diaries are notable for Pepys's frank assessments of the depravity of Charles II's court and the horrors of the plague years, as well as for their distinctive form as a kind of proto-stream of consciousness. This unique work of scholarship conjures from the past a captivating if wretched figure.""-- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""De la Bédoyère allows Pepys' contradictions to stand without moralizing. Confession becomes art, a document of one man's flaws and the enduring fascination of unvarnished truth. What emerges is less a curated historical document than a psychological confession, with Pepys acting as both voyeur and participant.""-- ""Booklist"" ""A skilled, scholarly contribution to better understanding the man and his legacy.""-- ""The Times Literary Supplement"" ""A brilliantly entertaining and revealing new transcription of Pepys's diary.""--Claire Tomalin, bestselling author of The Young H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens ""A valuable, thought-provoking investigation of Pepys's writing.""--Kate Loveman, author of The Strange History of Samuel Pepys's Diary ""By compiling, translating, and commenting on the sections of the diary that focus on Pepys's personal life, he presents a powerful case for the prosecution. This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""--Katherine Harvey, The Times (London) ""Never less than compellingly readable. Adds so much to a fuller understanding of the man himself.""-- ""Irish Independent"" ""This newly explicit view of Pepys does not negate the continuing value of his diary--which remains a magnificent historical resource--but from now on it will be impossible to go to it in a state of innocence, let alone denial.""-- ""The Guardian"" ""This portrait of a deeply flawed man enhances our understanding of one of England's great diarists.""-- ""The Times (London)""

Author Information

Guy de la Bédoyère is an historian and author with numerous books to his credit. One of very few authors with the ability to read and use the system of shorthand used by the diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), he edited the letters exchanged by Pepys with the diarist John Evelyn (1620-1706) in Particular Friends: The Correspondence of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, covering their 38-year association and friendship. He has also produced the only edition of Pepys's correspondence to be published in modern times in The Letters of Samuel Pepys. Guy lives in Britain.

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